DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES `DOGVILLE' WILL GET TONGUES WAGGING.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

Lars von Trier's ``Dogville'' is an unsettling, provocative and bleak offering on the nature of humanity. Set in the Depression, the dark story is laid out as a fable, complete with a benign narrator (John Hurt), but it leaves the moral at the end to be drawn by the audience.

What that is has been seen by some as a condemnation of America, but ``Dogville's'' implications go beyond an attack on one country and rather to man's underlying character. The events take place in a small town on a large chalked-off stage with props, including autos, giving it a Brechtian feel.

One day a well-dressed stranger, Grace (Nicole Kidman), arrives, frightened (gunshots had been heard) and penniless. The xenophobic Rocky Mountain town is somewhat reluctant to take her in, but she finds a friend in Tom (Paul Bettany), a writer, who persuades the townsfolk to accept her. In order to make herself useful, Grace offers to help out where she can, but it doesn't take long for the people of Dogville to go from kind to abusive. After Grace is raped by apple farmer Chuck (Stellan Skarsgard), he forces her into a life of degradation, which the others take advantage of.

Instead of a sunny small-town America where people help each other out - the heartland image perpetuated in movies and ads - the insular group is ultimately petty underneath, quick to bring each other down and hateful of strangers. But there is a turnabout in the end - a violent, vengeful one, and von Trier doesn't seem to offer any alternatives.

Shot on digital video, ``Dogville'' - with its strong cast, particularly Kidman - is literally a stark vision that is sure to provoke.

``Dogville'' (Lions Gate; $26.90) includes commentary by von Trier and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle.

`Ella Enchanted,' 'Laws of Attraction,' 'The Girl Next Door,' 'Shaolin Soccer'

``Ella Enchanted,'' a takeoff on fairy tales, boasts two positives - a fair amount of lively wit in the telling (complete with some nifty CGI) and Anne Hathaway, a young actress who possesses a screen charm that will take her far.

As Ella, badly treated by her evil stepmother (an imperious Joanna Lumley) and stepsisters, Hathaway is engaging while showing a comic flair. Ella was given the gift of obedience as a baby - a spell from a nasty fairy (Vivica A. Fox) - and is forced to do whatever she's told. Even everyday commands (``Give yourself a pat on the back'') become treacherous. This gives everyone plenty of ways to take advantage of the poor girl. Meanwhile, her stepsisters are mad for Prince Charmont (Hugh Dancy), heir to the throne, which is now under the control of his ``Image is everything'' uncle, Sir Edgar (Cary Elwes of ``The Princess Bride,'' another fairy-tale spoof), who has segregated the ogres and other creatures of the forest such as elfs.

Eventually, Ella must rid herself of the spell and fulfill her destiny with Prince Char, as he is known. A Cinderella story with a twist, ``Ella Enchanted'' is charming, sparkling entertainment.

Pierce Brosnan as the sophisticated (when isn't he?) divorce lawyer Daniel Rafferty and Julianne Moore as Audrey Woods, a steely tough divorce lawyer, would seem like a perfect cinematic match, but the sparks never get beyond a small flame in ``Laws of Attraction.'' It's not the fault of Moore and Brosnan, who could both be charming and exude sexuality on ``Sesame Street,'' but the script never sharpens its edge - disappointing given that divorce lawyers would seem a ripe topic.

``The Girl Next Door'' has similarities to the Tom Cruise coming-of-age comedy ``Risky Business.'' In this case, instead of being mixed up with a hooker and her pimp, the young man involved, high-school senior Matt (Emile Hirsch), is hooked up with Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert of ``24''), a former porn star trying to escape the adult-entertainment world.

Of course, ``The Girl Next Door'' exploits adolescent male fantasies for humor. It succeeds to a limited degree, but in the end it pales next to the exuberance of ``Risky Business.'' While the theatrical release was rated R with no overt nudity, one of the DVD releases is unrated and shows more skin.

``Shaolin Soccer'' is a kick, a silly comedy combining Hong Kong martial arts with the world's most popular sport (except in the USA, of course). It's directed and co-written by Stephen Chow, who also stars as Sing, a martial-arts master who is a street cleaner in order to help less fortunate people. Inspired by Hung (Patrick Tse Yin), a soccer hero whose career was ended by a broken leg, Sing puts together a soccer team composed of members of his former monastery to take on Team Evil. OK, not the most profound concept, but lots of fun along the way, if you enjoy well-choreographed fast-paced kicking action.

``Ella Enchanted'' (Miramax; $29.99) includes commentary with director Tommy O'Haver, Hathaway and Dancy, deleted and extended scenes, featurettes and a music video.

``Laws of Attraction'' (New Line; $27.95) includes deleted scenes and an alternative ending.

``The Girl Next Door - Unrated Version'' (Fox; $27.90) includes 16 uncensored deleted scenes, featurettes and a photo gallery.

``Shaolin Soccer'' (Miramax; $19.99) includes the original Chinese version.

From TV to DVD

Open the first season of ``The Apprentice'' and you'll hear Donald Trump tell you ``You're Fired!'' Maybe not such a great idea in this soft economy, but the dream of winning a high-paying job working for a tycoon is powerful. For those who enjoyed the show, they are likely to appreciate the disc of extras, including deleted scenes. I don't find such avarice and the need to be in the public eye all that interesting, but as Dennis Miller used to say before he became a bore, I could be wrong.

I always felt the late Fred Gwynne was always underappreciated in his life. Perhaps he never lived down being on ``Car 54'' and playing Herman Munster, but the Harvard grad had great comic timing and looking back at the first season of ``The Munsters'' shows that. Basically no different than the sitcoms of the time (1964), ``The Munsters'' used the joke of having a family of Universal-style monsters living a normal life at 1313 Mockingbird Heights. Herman had the same problems as dads in most sitcoms, but for the 6'5'' Gwynne, as a reanimated corpse, they were just a bit bigger. Herman was recently ranked 19th on TV Guide's list of the ``50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time.''

It must be a dream; actually that was much later. For now ``Dallas - The Complete First and Second Seasons'' is out on DVD. In this prime-time soap, Larry Hagman portrayed oil-magnate J.R. Ewing. He and his family reveled in power, sex and back-stabbing. Now we have ``The Apprentice.''

The nine episodes of ``X-Files'' creator Chris Carter's short-lived ``Harsh Realm'' are now out. Because the show got canceled quickly, there was never any finale; so the story of humans fighting a war inside a virtual reality world remains unresolved. ``Harsh Relam'' was a fairly imaginative series with high production values that showed promise.

Also out are the fourth season of Matt Groening's sci-fi animated series ``Futurama,'' which includes an episode in which the original cast of ``Star Trek'' play themselves and the third season of ``Farscape,'' the sci-fi series with Jim Henson creations that's actually for grown-ups.

``The Apprentice - The Complete First Season'' (Universal; $59.99) includes deleted scenes, contestant profiles, extended auditions of each contestant and a making-of featurette, on five discs.

``The Munsters - The Complete First Season'' (Universal; $59.90) includes all 38 episodes plus the never-before-seen pilot.

``Dallas - The Complete First and Second Seasons'' (Warner $49.90) includes some commentary and a cast-member reunion on five discs.

``Harsh Realm - The Complete Series'' (Fox; $39.90) includes commentary by Carter on the pilot episode and a making-of featurette.

``Futurama, Vol. 4'' (Fox; $49.90) includes commentary on all 18 episodes and deleted scenes from 16 episodes on four discs.

``Farscape - The Complete Season 3'' (A.D. Vision; $149.90) contains all the episodes on five discs.

`Purple Rain,' `The World at War,' `Ladysmith Black Mambazo'

Prince should have quit while he was ahead - at least in the movies. ``Purple Rain,'' his first foray into films, was modest, likable and even moving at times despite some silliness. But who cares? The music is great. While ``Purple Rain'' had Albert Magnoli as director, Prince decided to direct his next two films - ``Graffiti Bridge'' and ``Under the Cherry Moon'' - himself, and the less said about them the better.

The highly regarded ``The World at War'' is out in a 30th anniversary edition. Narrated by Laurence Olivier, this series is still considered the best documentary on World War II. With 28 episodes on 11 discs and some 30 hours of material, it captures - as well as anything can - the many stories of the war, both on the European and Pacific fronts.

The Oscar-nominated ``Ladysmith Black Mambazo - On Tip Toe'' follows the famed South African musical group that first came to prominence in this country when heard on Paul Simon's ``Graceland'' album and tour.

Purple Rain (20th Anniversary Edition) (Warner; $26.99) includes commentary (not from Prince) and a number of featurettes plus eight music videos from Prince, the Time, and Apollonia 6, and a look at the real Purple Rain tour on two discs.

``The World at War (30th Anniversary Edition)'' (A&E; $149.95) includes on 11 discs a number of bonus documentaries and a photo gallery.

``Ladysmith Black Mambazo - On Tip Toe'' (New Video Group, $26.95) includes interviews and extended scenes.

Rob Lowman, [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) PAUL BETTANY and NICOLE KIDMAN in ``Dogville''

(2) ANNE HATHAWAY and HUGH DANCY in ``Ella Enchanted''

(3) STEPHEN CHOW in ``Shaolin Soccer''